


Smoke, Mirrors and Morality

by POTaTOS_Chips



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 02:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/POTaTOS_Chips/pseuds/POTaTOS_Chips
Summary: In Inkopolis, tensions between Inklings and Octolings are at an all time high, despite efforts from the government to safely integrate octolings into the Inkpolis society. Meanwhile, an Inkling named Strephes gets a call from his father, who he hasn't talked to for years. When Strephes and some newfound friends, Ika, Minnah and Aveid, go to Strephes' homeland of the Loligo Peninsula, they get wrapped up in his father's plans, which expose lies, reveal truths and raise questions amongst them that threaten to tear apart not just their perceptions of each other, but also of themselves...*This work uses certain character and locations from Splatoon which I do not own! Some are also completely fictional, and all events are not canon! I would also like to point out that this will be updated frequently and as such tags and archive ratings will change! Thanks for understanding!*





	Smoke, Mirrors and Morality

_Strephes_

  
Sometimes it just seems like life's out to piss you off. Perhaps not going out of it's way to drag you down, but it definitely has intent to deal you a shit hand. The last three weeks have been somewhat useless. The charter means that all my job applications are taking months to process, and Grizzco's no longer hiring, so I'm having to dig into my savings to just pay the rent. Today's the last day before my eviction, so apparently I should enjoy it before I get tossed out onto the streets. My Heavy Splatling Deco's broken too, so it's not even like I can earn any money from turf wars either. I'm the one who dug myself into this mess anyway. I'd probably turn to Thule at moments like this. Pigeons may not be the brightest of creatures, but they offer some means of social interaction, which was really all I needed. His death came as a shock to me, and I feel bad I couldn't pay for a burial of some sort, but I'm relieved (maybe even grateful?) that he died peacefully in his sleep. I guess the last few days have simply been a haze of food and no sleep, with an occasional toilet break every now and then. Regardless of the insomnia that's plagued me, it's not exactly like anyone could manage to get a decent night's sleep round here. This is the cheapest area of Inkopolis, and drunks and junkies seem to break in to the apartment building on a nightly basis. It's a major stroke of luck it hasn't happened to me yet, but it'll inevitably happen at some point. I'm bored out of my mind, and that's when I started to brainstorm earlier this morning. Ideas passed from one side of my head and out the other, all of which were either pointless or felt like more of the same. Playing video games got boring on the third day, and it's only got less and less interesting since then. I'd call my dad, but we haven't spoken for three years. Not since mum died and he had to tell me I was adopted. Jeez, saying that still hits me as hard as when my dad had to first break it to me, and I guess that means I'm still a crybaby. Maybe I haven't changed in all this time. Sure, my dad was kinda harsh on me at times, but I can't blame him really. My mum told me it was all down to stress and lots of work, and I get it. But still, I harbour some resent for him, and while I've tried to cast that all aside, I don't know if he took what I said back then personally. Even so, I've settled on actually going outside for once. I've still got my under 18 monorail card lying around somewhere, so I'm headed to the center of Inkopolis. I’ve not left the building in nearly a month. I’ve not been outside in nearly a month. It feels weird and unnatural, harmful even, because being inside is all I've known for goodness knows how long. But today I'll change that. At least, that's what I hope. If I'm gonna get booted out, I might as well at least get a taste and feel of what it's actually like out there. As I walk, I feel as my legs ache in protest, but the more I walk, the less they hurt. I unlock the door from my apartment, and I feel the key nearly break the internals of the lock as the rust in the mechanisms slip loose. At last, the door opens, and I tread carefully down the grimy, dirt laden stairs that haven't been scrubbed down in longer than the time I've been cooped up for. As I reach the bottom of the staircase, the doors to the outside world stand tall and imposing, the scarred metal standing like wounded soldiers on the verge of failing their only duty. As I push them open with both arms, the light hits me. It's blinding, but comforting at the same time. The sunlight embraces me, and it's like I've landed on another world. It's colourful, it's vibrant, and despite the state of the area, it seems welcoming. But hell, the light hurts my eyes.


End file.
